The Smackdown Breakdown - Got A One Way Ticket To Hell (In A Cell) And Back

Okay so I went for a slightly corny title but I heard The Darkness this morning and figured it would fit pretty well....At least it wasn't Meat Loaf. Sunday sees us head to the Hell in a Cell show which seems to me to be built around one thing only; Undertaker and Brock Lesnar. The rest of the card feels like it's maybe been a little neglected but Lesnar and Undertaker are both pretty huge draws despite their advancing years. That's probably the match I'm most looking forward to personally, mainly because I'm expecting something big from it and I hope we aren't disappointed.

Speaking of Brock he appeared on this weeks Stone Cold podcast, which appears to have received rather thumbs down reviews from most. I enjoyed it personally and gave my thoughts on what I thought we learned about Brock this week in my blog. While I can understand some people's frustration with the interview I genuinely believe people are more pissed off with the fact that there was no tease of a Lesnar and Austin match like everyone seemed to almost be taking as a certain would happen. Yes Austin only has himself to blame for that after the Paul Heyman episode but come on guys, there was never any guarantee this was going to happen in the first place. If you watch the interview back and take it for what it was then I think we learned more about Lesnar than we knew before. But you don't have to agree with me, which is the beauty of wrestling; there is no right or wrong opinion or answer.

Last Sunday I attended an awesome Insane Championship Wrestling show in Sheffield, which was part of the upcoming Fear And Loathing VIII event at the SECC Arena in Glasgow on 15th November, which is now officially SOLD OUT! So big congratulations to ICW for that achievement as it's going to be the biggest gate for a British Wrestling event in a long time. For my thoughts on the ICW show in Sheffield I attended you can check out my blog on it here.

Monday will see the release of the first of a two part interview I recently conducted with "Mr. Athletic" Jeff Cobb, a big up and coming name on the independent wrestling circuit in the United States who is also a part of the Lucha Underground promotion. We cover all kinds of topics including Jeff's career, his early days in wrestling, Lucha Underground, his WWE try out and much more. Keep your eyes peeled on Monday for part one dropping here and on my Soundcloud page, where you can also hear my previous interviews with names like KG Kevin Gill, Nathan Cruz, Paige's dad Ricky Knight, Dan Spivey, Liam Lazarus, JD Boom, the Rudeboy, Adam Deckrion, and JR Kratos. I'm hoping to bring you some more exciting guests from the worlds of American and British wrestling over the coming weeks too.

Now let's head on into this weeks edition of the Smackdown Breakdown and see what the final episode before Hell in a Cell brought us.

Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro - 4 Stars

What will Sunday bring for Seth Rollins; the end of his reign as WWE World Heavyweight Champion? Or will he finally be rid of the Director of Operations, Kane. The Shield 'reunion' on Monday against the Wyatt's seemed pretty cool but Seth had to ruin it by walking out on his partners as he was expected to do. Seth faced a difficult challenge tonight in Cesaro, who took it to the champion early and made it clear he wasn't going to be easy to beat. Ceasro looked good in this match and showed why he should be a legitimate threat in the future for any champion. These two put on a pretty impressive display as you would expect from them and made this a good match to watch, with some great athleticism and wrestling action on display for all to see. Seth would pick up an all important win headed into Sunday after he laid out Cesaro with a Pedigree. A great opening contest for this weeks show.

Paige vs. Nikki Bella - 4 Stars

SO before the match we saw interaction between Team PCB and Team Bella, after Paige started off the segment in the ring cutting a promo about how she appeared to be a little guilty about her attacking Natalya last week. She called out Charlotte and Becky Lynch to try and explain her innocence but I somehow don't think they're buying it, nor were they impressed with Paige's attempts to apologise. Team Bella decided to stir the pot leading to a match between Paige and Nikki. I feared another six Divas tag match at one point but we didn't get that and instead got to see a fun singles match between two of WWE's top Divas. Paige took it to Nikki early on in the match, showing why she is in my opinion the most talented Diva on the WWE roster. Nikki would eventually take charge and strut her stuff in front of an on looking Charlotte, giving the Divas Champion a preview of what to expect on Sunday. Nikki showed a pretty aggressive side at times in this match, showing she won't be a pushover on Sunday. What I enjoyed most about this match is there was no involvement from the other four Divas on the outside of the ring and this was just all about Nikki and Paige. Despite her best efforts Paige would come up on the losing side in this one, giving Nikki a huge win headed into Sunday.

Dolph Ziggler And Summer Rae On Miz TV - 3.5 Stars

SO this segment didn't really have me that excited to start with. I really couldn't see where things were going to head in this one following Summer's failed attempt to hook up with Dolph last week, and I could feel myself cringing at the thought of what was going to happen. But then a really cool thing happened to save the segment from tanking as "Prince Pretty" Tyler Breeze arrived on the WWE main roster! I'm a huge fan of Tyler Breeze and he has worked so hard down in NXT to get where he is now. He is one of the names I've always thought was going to be a big star and now he gets the chance to show it. Okay he has Summer Rae by his side, but I think their two characters being so self absorbed is going to work out well for them both. Breeze wasted no time in asserting his authority and announcing his arrival to WWE by assaulting Ziggler, even using the selfie stick as a weapon. The crowd seemed happy to see Tyler, with an NXT chant ringing out before this but they were soon booing him after he announced his arrival and making a statement taking Dolph out so aggressively. Breeze and Ziggler is going to be a great program I'm really looking forward to seeing unfold.

Sheamus and King Barrett vs. The Lucha Dragons - 3.5 Stars

So and Englishman and an Irishman walk into a ring....Sounds like the start of a bad joke doesn't it? I'll quit on that while I'm ahead. Rusev joined them and gave a real European Union feel to the team, and it appears this could be the start of a new team forming. In their way tonight were the ultra quick Lucha Dragons, who seem to have fallen down the tag team pecking order of late. The team of Barrett and Sheamus soon showed their power and dominance in this one as they took the Lucha Dragons down with a vicious beating. Kalisto looked like he might be able to steal the win for his team, but the distraction of Rusev proved too much and Kalisto would taste the boot of Sheamus before being pinned. A good match that really only ever looked like having one winner.

Ryback vs. Bo Dallas - 3.5 Stars

I think Bo's pre-match promo lasted longer than this match did. I was pretty thankful to hear Ryback's music hit as Bo tried to sing. Bo never looked like he had a chance as Ryback didn't really have to do too much to pick up the win here. Sure Bo had his moment but that's pretty much all he had in terms of advantage. Ryback picked up a prtty easy win in preparation for a much bigger test this Sunday against Kevin Owens. There's very little else to say about this one.

Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. The New Day - 4 Stars

At least there was no fear for Ambrose and Reigns tonight of have having their partner walk out on them. They wouldn't need to worry about Xavier Woods at ringside either as he was away pulling splinters out of himself after going through a table of Raw...And possibly getting his trombone fixed. But that's purely speculation! I love the fact New Day already have a t-shirt with unicorns on out, and was disappointed they were not led to the ring tonight by a unicorn. These two teams put on a pretty good match with great efforts from all four men in this one. Once again it seemed like Ambrose and Reigns took it to another level in this one, while Kofi and Big E did what they do best and gave a great account of themselves, showing why they are the top team in WWE right now. Unsurprisingly it was the team of Ambrose and Reigns who picked up the win in this one after some great teamwork from them both. New Day tried to retreat to the back but were chased back by the Dudley Boyz. Reigns and Ambrose nailed Big E with a Doomsday Device, before Kofi tasted a Superman Punch from mid-air, followed by a spear that sealed New Days fate. Reigns showed he is ready for Sunday night but it was Bray Wyatt who would have the last word on screen, simply telling Roman "I'll see you in hell".

Overall Show Rating - 3.75 Stars

The final edition of Smackdown headed into Hell in a Cell was pretty good. I thought the show opened strongly, kind of petered off in the middle, but came right back up the other side by the end of the night. It may not have been my highest ranked segment of the night but I definitely want to give the arrival of Tyler Breeze my vote for the segment of the week. Breeze showed through his aggression just why he deserves to be a part of the main roster and I Hope he takes this opportunity for what it's worth and shows everyone just what a great talent he is.

That wraps it up for another edition of the Smackdown Breakdown. Please come back again next week for another edition. If you have any comments about this weeks Breakdown or Smackdown itself then please leave your comments in the discussion area below. Thanks for reading and I will see you again next week.

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